| Top Juniors Rip |
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| Tuesday, 23 October 2007 | |
  Jayce Robinson from St Ives and Gwen Spurlock from Swansea are riding high after snapping up the top spots on the podium at the Billabong British Junior Surf Championships at Widemouth Bay. As two days of clean 3ft waves and fine Autumnal weather drew to a close, several hundred people lined the cliffs at the picturesque North Cornish resort to watch surfing buddies Jayce Robinson, Dane Hall and Billy Norways, all from St Ives, battle it out with Newquay’s Aiden Wright for the prestigious Junior title. At only 17-years-old, Jayce Robinson is poised for a fantastic surf career and is hailed as Britain’s next big hope on the international circuit. He was in a class of his own throughout the event, and got off to a strong start in the final with a six point ride. Dane Hall replied with some powerful backhand hacks. Norways and Wright also racked up solid waves whilst Jayce struggled to find a solid back-up. With two minutes to go, and the title very much up for grabs, Jayce tore apart a long right-hander, his lightning fast, progressive turns earning an 8.5 from the judges and rapturous applause from the crowd. Robinson had earned his first British title.  Jayce said: “I’ve been surfing all week in preparation for the British and it’s certainly paid off. The conditions were perfect for my style and technique and it feels like a lot of years of hard work have come together to help me take this title. it’s just brilliant to get the British Junior title under my belt in my last year in the category.”He continued: “It was amazing that three St Ives lads were in the final. We’re really coming up and there’s lots more St Ives talent to be reckoned with in the future!” Luis Eyre from Cheshire put on a blistering display to add the under 16 boys title to his 2006 under 14 crown. The under 14 boys was taken by Nathan Elms of Jersey and Harry Timson of Newquay took the Under 12s for the second year running. In the under 18 Girls, one of the shocks of the event was British Open Champion Beth Mason going out in the semis, leaving the path clear for North Devon’s Karma Worthington, Newquay’s Holly Donnelly, Zoe Sheath from the Isle of Wight and fellow Swansea surfer Gwen Spurlock to battle it out in the final.  A typically solid and consistent performance from Worthington almost won her the title for the first time, but she couldn’t quite match Spurlock’s pizzazz. This is Gwen’s second time as British Junior Champion as she won both the Under 18s and Under 14s category in 2005.The under 14’s girls was won by Lucy Campbell, eager to bring home a trophy after elder brother Stuart’s disappointing early exit in the under 16 boys. After her title win, a delighted Gwen said: “I’m really happy to win the national event as this has been a really important contest for me. I think that the British girls’ surfing has improved generally and I’m just thrilled that I got the title this year. It was a tough final with all the girls ripping and I really had to dig deep to get the good waves.” Karen Walton, National Director, BSA said, “We’re amazed by the size of the entry for the Billabong British Juniors. This year there were in excess of 200 entrants. This just goes to show how much talent and enthusiasm we have at the Junior level and is hugely encouraging for the future of our sport.” Full results: Under 18 1st - Jayce Robinson (St Ives) 2nd – Dane Hall (St Ives) 3rd – Billy Norways (St Ives) 4th – Aiden Wright (Newquay) Cadet (under 16) 1st – Luis Eyre (Cheshire) 2nd – Seb Smart (Sennen) 3rd – George Picking (Newquay) 4th – Tom Good (Newquay) Youth (under 14) 1st - Nathan Elms (Jersey) 2nd - Beau Bromham (N.Devon) 3rd - Leon Mansfield (Newquay) 4th - Max Tucker (Porthcawl) Grommets (under 12) 1st - Harry Timson (Newquay) 2nd - Miles Lee Hargreaves (Bournemouth) 3rd - Jobe Harriss (Bude) 4th - Jack Hough (N.Devon) Under 18 Girls 1st - Gwen Spurlock (Swansea) 2nd - Karma Worthington (N.Devon) 3rd - Holly Donnelly (Newquay) 4th - Zoe Sheath (Isle of White) Under 14 Girls 1st - Lucy Campbell (N.Devon) 2nd - Megan Burns (Wadebridge) 3rd – Christie Fitzpatrick (Wadebridge) 4th - Gabi Rowe (Looe) Bookmark this item              |